Monday, June 30, 2008

What a difference 4 months makes

Hey everybody! Sorry it has been a little while since I have blogged. Work has been crazy to say the least. My provisional period is going well and my Preceptor has said I am doing a great job. I have had some pretty interesting calls, I might add. I can't go into specifics because of patient confidentiality but I have hung Dopamine and lidocaine drips . I have used Rapid sequence Intubation on two critical respiratory patients, I have flown out two trauma alerts, and I have had a patient come back after being in cardiac arrest. That was all in two shifts. It is quite overwhelming and extremely challenging. It will be back to work tomorrow after some much needed rest this past weekend.
Kim and I took Hannah on a three day mini vacation to Disney World. We had taken her back in February for her third birthday and we still had two days left on our passes that we did not want to lose. Hannah got sick last time and we had to cut the trip short. This time Hannah had us going and going. Four months ago she didn't really want anything to do with the characters for the most part. I guess they scared her a little bit. I would be scared too if a giant mouse was trying to hug me. Hannah had an absolute blast this time. She wanted to see them all. She saw and hugged Mickey, Minnie, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Darby, Mulan, Mushu, Eyore, Piglet, Princess Aurora and even Cinderellas wicked stepmother and stepsisters ,"The mean girls" as Hannah calls them. She was even a personal escort for Mulan and Mushu. Mulan surprised Hannah coming out of a secret door and asked hannah to escort her to the photo spot. Hannah was awestruck and showed Mulan her Chinese fan. What a treat that was. I got a little on video. It was such a nice weekend. It was a break from a hectic world. Disney is still a magical place and is so much more fun now that we can see it with Hannah through her eyes. Enjoy the photos and videos.

Here is a video of Hannah and Kim with the wicked step mother and step sisters. She asked them to sing the song from Cinderella. What happens next is all Hannah! Even The wicked Stepmother had to chuckle. I coudn't contain my laughter. I am not a very good camera man. LOL!!

This is Hannah escorting Mulan and Mushu as I mentioned earlier. What a special moment. I wish I could have captured the whole thing on video but She caught us all off guard. It was a very cool thing!! She did not have to do that. It was hot and she was so patient and cute with our Chinese princess!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Check out the Nightwalk 2008 recap

Here is the recap from David Bolt at Bring Me Hope of the 2008 Nightwalk for Chinese orphans that we participated in. What a great time. You can read all about it at the link below. Enjoy!
http://bringmehope.org/nightwalk08/nightwalkrecap08.pdf

Saturday, June 14, 2008

I started Paramedic provisionals yesterday

Well it has been a busy week. Kim has finished off another school year and now is heading into summer with Hannah and getting ready to enjoy some time off. She is happy and very excited to have some quality Mommy & Daughter time. I have to admit I will be a little envious this summer. I have just started a new chapter in my career. I am now working along side a seasoned preceptor paramedic and I am now being evaluated and tested on my skills and knowledge of our medical directors protocol. It is a very stressful time. Probably the most stressful part of the whole Paramedic program. I know that with the support of my family and the steady hand of God guiding me, I will get through this and be a great Paramedic. The station I am working at has the busiest rescue in the County. I will get the needed experience in a hurry with real serious calls and will be up for long hours at a time. I will need to be sharp and make life and death decisions in seconds and I can only do it with Gods strength and Grace. I pray that I will still have energy to play and be there for my daughter. There is nothing I hate more than coming home from a busy night and telling my daughter, "Daddy is a little too tired to play right now". If you guys could just lift me up in prayer for the next three months as I take on this new challenge, it would be greatly appreciated. I need strength, knowledge and courage that I have not yet tapped into. I will have some recuperation hopefully when I go to China half way through it for the Summer camp. I pray that I can let my hair down and have a good time with those kids. I will need the diversion. This season I am about to embark on makes me want to appreciate the little things in life. I do not want to take for granted any moments I have with Kim and Hannah. They are gifts to me. My time with them is so valuable. Today Kim and I celebrate eleven years of marriage and tomorrow we celebrate fathers day. A day that makes my birthday pale in comparison. It is the day that God and my daughter gave to me. What a gift!!! I love you guys. I probably will not be blogging too often but I will try and give some updates here and there. To all of the Dads. Happy Fathers Day! Cherish your time with your kids. Please remember all of the dads that are serving our nation over seas and pray for them and their kids who miss them so much. Below is a nice Fathers Day type video. Enjoy!

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Kung Fu Panda

We took Hannah to see the movie "Kung Fu Panda" today. I have to say that it was a decent movie but I think it was a little much for a three year old. It had some martial arts scenes that were somewhat violent for a little Princess :) The Kung Fu scenes were like the old Kung Fu Movies from Saturday afternoon drive in theater on TV in the 70's and early 80's. Does anyone remember those? I loved them. This was basically a cartoon version of "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" with classic Jack Black humor. He cracks me up, funny stuff. He plays a perfect Panda. Pandas cute clumsiness was very heartwarming. There was also a pro adoption message in the film. Panda's father is a noodle selling goose. The dad being different from Panda started to be addressed, but not really. You have to see the scene. I thought that it was pretty neat that it was not made an issue that they looked different. It did not need to be. The goose was his daddy, plain and simple. It reminds me of what we share with our daughter. Hannah might not be of my flesh and blood but She is without a doubt my daughter. I do not see our differences when I look at her. Love is truly blind... I think that the storyline was done well. Hannah really liked the movie, except for the scary Tiger. She giggled and cheered Panda quite a few times. The movie had a genuine good message about never giving up on yourself. It showed Po (Panda) having the confidence to pursue his dreams when everyone is counting him out. It was also a valuable lesson in good being triumphant over evil. I think I would recommend it for parents to probably go see it first. You can decide if your kids are mature enough for the martial arts fighting. The movie gets a thumbs up from me though. The clip below was my favorite scene in the movie. Panda completes his Kung Fu training and He thanks his master. Good stuff, Enjoy!!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Going Back to China...Where it all started !

I received my travel voucher today. This means I can now apply for my travel visa for my trip to China. Yes, I am going back to China. For those that do not know, I am now involved with a great organization called Bring Me Hope. http://www.bringmehope.org/ God has really put it on my heart to help orphans in some way. He has not necessarily put it on our hearts to adopt again just yet but there is a need to continue helping. It is a chance that I have to give back and I am so looking forward to it. Bring Me Hope puts on several summer camps each year for orphans from local social welfare institutions. These kids are typically ages 5-18. Many of these kids have special needs. The camps are a week long of swimming, hiking, crafts, stories, games and a chance to be shown love that they might not otherwise get. The camps are expanding to two cities this year, Beijing and Nan Chang. I am leaving for a one week camp in Beijing on July 24th. I am going with a good friend of mine Bill Byrne. He does our website and many others. I had inquired about the camp back in the summer of 2006 but it just did not pan out fir me to go. Bill and I talked one day a few months back and he mentioned BMH as one of the organizations he donates money to from the profits of creating adoption websites. I thought wow, very cool. He also said they made him one of their board of directors and he was thinking about going this summer to volunteer at one of the camps. I told him that I inquired about going soon after we got back from China but it was not Gods timing. Needless to say we decided to go together this summer. I am pumped to see what God has in store for us. I'm really not sure what I am getting myself into. I remember I went on a school field trip with Kim's first grade class awhile back and it was crazy. So,this must be God ordained becasue I really don't see myself as a camp councelor :) Giod has a sense of hompr I guess? I know all these kids need are hands to hold on to this week and someone to show them a little love. I know I can do that. I have to remember, this might be the only time that they see the light of Jesus in others. I have to be a shining example to them. I am starting to get things ready in anticipation of going, even though I am almost two months away from travel. I hope to blog daily from China and send you guys some photos and share the expierence. I really wish Kim and Hannah were going with us but it is just not the right time for Hannah to go back to China. I want her to have clear memories of her trip back to her homeland. I think right now she is still a little young. Besides, that plane ride home with a toddler is still a very vivid and painful memory that Kim and I probably still need therapy for. Just kidding it was all so worth it!!

Monday, June 2, 2008

Mermaids and little Toes


Hannah and I had some fun in the pool today. I didn't have any photos of Hannah in the pool yet this year so we took some video and a couple of pictures. Hannah even took a couple herself. I took a chance letting a three year old take pictures with a $300 camera by the pool but I went with it. What in the world was I thinking? She took a great shot of the pool and and one of her little mermaid Ariel that I just had to share. It showed her perspective and I think they are pretty good photos also.
She is really loving the pool. She giggles and plays nonstop. Kim will be taking her for swim lessons later this month. I can't wait. We really want her to be confident without anything keeping her afloat. I am not going to stress out about it. She will learn in her time. I know it will just give us some added peace of mind. Lord knows we all need some of that these days.


She has really been cracking us up with her vocabulary lately. She is learning how to use larger words and in the right context. She was even saying some of her chinese words today. She loves that show "Ni Hao Kai Lan". It is on Nick Jr. It is a pretty good show. We try not to let her watch too much but, she has learned a lot from it. Check out the video. As soon as the camera came out I had to prompt her a little, but she really does know most of the words that they go over on that show. I wanted to thank you guys for the comments and emails. I am glad there are people that are enjoying the blog. It has been fun.